Data Where You Need It

Apache CouchDB™ lets you access your data where you need it. The Couch Replication Protocol is implemented in a variety of projects and products that span every imaginable computing environment from globally distributed server-clusters, over mobile phones to web browsers.

Store your data safely, on your own servers, or with any leading cloud provider. Your web- and native applications love CouchDB, because it speaks JSON natively and supports binary data for all your data storage needs.

Single Node Database

CouchDB is a terrific single-node database that works just like any other database
behind an application server of your choice.

Most people start with a single node CouchDB instance. More demanding projects can
seamlessly upgrade to a cluster.

Cluster

CouchDB is also a clustered database that allows you to run a single logical
database server on any number of servers or VMs.

A CouchDB cluster improves on the single-node setup with higher capacity and
high-availability without changing any APIs.

HTTP/JSON

CouchDB makes use of the ubiquitous HTTP protocol and JSON data format and is
compatible with any software that supports them. CouchDB also works great with
external tools like HTTP proxy servers, load balancers.

Ecosystem

CouchDB is built for servers (from a Raspberry Pi to big cloud installations), while
PouchDB is built for mobile & desktop web-browsers and Couchbase Lite is built for
native iOS & Android apps.

And all of them can seamlessly replicate data with each other.

Reliability

CouchDB is serious about data reliability.

Individual nodes use a crash-resistent append-only data structure. A multi-node
CouchDB cluster saves all data redundantly, so it is always available when you need
it.

Want to Contribute?

We welcome your contributions. CouchDB is an open source project. Everything, from this website to the core of the database itself, has been contributed by helpful individuals. The time and attention of our contributors is our most precious resource, and we always need more of it. Our primary goal is to build a welcoming, supporting, inclusive and diverse community. We abide by Code of Conduct and a set of Project Bylaws. Come join us!

CouchDB Core

Help shape the future of CouchDB! There’s still plenty of work to be
done on the core database. We use GitHub to track issues and pull requests.

CouchDB Chat

We run community chat channels on Freenode IRC network and Slack.
IRC is open and very common, but Slack is more user-friendly. We have a Slack/IRC bridge so you can use what you prefer and your messages will be relayed.

Slack

To start using Slack, enter your email address here for an invite:

IRC

We have two IRC channels. #Couchdb for discussions on using CouchDB and #CouchDB-dev for discussions
on CouchDB development.